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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

Sorry. I know it's upside down but I cannot fix it. As you can see now these quarter notes are trplets. So there are four quarter notes worth of notes in both lines. But it's written in cut time so it has be played twice as fast to the point you can feel two beats per measure even though there are four beats (if it weren't cut time).

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Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets

All right ... looks like Wednesdays are going to be my AOTW day from now on (kind of appropriate, I think, since Wednesday is piano lesson day, and I kind of already see it as the closing bookend to a week of playing).

RagDoll -- Glad to hear your injured thumb isn't overly hindering you in your playing, and congratulations on Amazing Grace! If you're looking for an introduction to classical that won't get your neck hair to stand on end, I would encourage you to identify a piece of classical music that you already know and love, and then ask your teacher to find a simplified piano score for it. There are innumerable volumes of 'easy classics' out there. I'm sure there must be something to your liking in one of them. And the advantage is, if you're playing something you love to listen to, you can play it literally hundreds of times in the space of a week without getting bored (I have this with the Moonlight right now).

MaryBee -- Turns out I *am* going for note perfect ... which is why my ABF recital submission is _not_ the Moonlight Sonata, movement 1. Or, well, that's one of the reasons, anyway. As you'll hear when you listen to what I did submit, I had to record in a rather noisy environment, where I could have been disturbed literally any second by an even noisier gaggle of customers coming in. So, it's a one-minute Haydn menuett, of which I did exactly one take, and the imperfections (both in terms of recording quality, and the quality of my playing) are already driving me crazy. But, I had promised myself to take part in the recital, and I did. So there.

I will probably submit Moonlight for the next recital, but I kind of think it deserves to be recorded in a quiet room, on a piano that isn't a hundred years old (or thereabouts) and slightly out of tune. Plus, I really can't do the Moonlight in one take yet. Or in any case, I couldn't do that when I submitted this Haydn recording. I kid myself into thinking that right now, if I were to try again, I might be able to do it in one take.

TallGuy -- Maybe you *should* submit Mary Had a Little Lamb. (Not really, of course. I'm just saying that because I'm feeling a little insecure about what I submitted, and if you did Mary Had a Little Lamb, at least there would be someone else with me on the n00b level ;)). Also, I kind of enjoyed your 'most out of tune piano ever' recording. I promise to try to record my own personal 'worst piano ever' soon!

Warlock -- Congratulations on your completion of Faber level 3. I remember I had this same feeling, more or less, when I completed Bartok's Mikrokosmos 1 (and then later in the year, Mikrokosmos 2). But that was ten years ago, and I didn't play much (or at all, really) between then and last September, when I began to undertake what I hope will be my third and final attempt at learning to play the piano. These days, progress doesn't come in such easily defined steps for me anymore -- especially now that my focus is starting to shift to longer pieces. So enjoy it while you can! . And congrats on that list of repertoire you picked up over the weekend!

Allard -- I'm a little bit jealous of you ... sort of. I've been to quite a few piano stores lately, not because I wanted to buy a piano (someone else has taken that out of my hands), but because I needed a place to play. In the process of doing that, I discovered that there are far more options for decent acoustic pianos in my price range than I ever suspected. I sort of wish I still had the luxury of trying out a few different models, and then deciding for myself which one I wanted. But oh, well. In a way, this is easier. If I end up not liking the Boston, it won't be myself I have to blame! By the way, if you're still hunting: definitely do play a few pianos that are completely beyond your reach, financially. I guarantee it will get you even more excited about playing the piano in general .

FarmGirl -- I (much like, as I'm discovering, many others here) am one of those who have trouble with sight reading while playing. I will definitely keep your suggestion in mind. Congratulations on biting the bullet, yourself! I hope that when I do this with the next piece I learn, I'll discover like you that it's easier than I thought .

casinitaly -- Sounds like you learned a lot from that Baroque piece, short though it was. Good for you! And by the way ... a piano party in Italy? I think I like it! I'll even invite you all back to Brussels in return, once my apartment is finished!

GlassLove -- Welcome, fellow traveler on the road to perfection in performance of the Moonlight Sonata . We seem to have similar tastes in music (I, too, happen to love Philip Glass). It's fun to watch your excitement at having acquired your first volume of his music. I think I might go there soon, too, though I'm not quite sure it would be the kind of thing to take to piano lessons. My teacher seems to be over the moon to finally have found someone who genuinely loves, and wants to learn to play, the great pianist-composers of the Classical and Romantic eras (Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Schubert, ...). Among the gaggle of Yann Tiersen and Michael Nyman fans, it seems I am becoming a member of an endangered species of music lovers!

JimF -- well, welcome to another fellow traveler (though I already knew you were working on the Moonlight, probably since before I started). It is such a great piece to just sit down at the piano with and play to yourself! Even though I must have played through it several hundreds of times by now, I find that I never get bored of it. Anyway, congrats on the progress!

My AOTW: not much. I dropped the ball on MOYD this past Thursday (for those who want to know the sad, sad story of how that happened: go check out the other thread). And when I played the Moonlight in class last Wednesday, my teacher basically said I had 'too much expression' in it (meaning: look at your score, stupid, it says 'sempre pp'). I recorded something for the ABF recital, but it's short, and full of background noise, and not really representative of where I am as a piano player right now (or maybe that last one is just wishful thinking on my part). Maybe my AOTW is that I've started the second movement of the Moonlight, and pretty much have the intro down, even though I thought it was still beyond my reach (especially in terms of reading capability, with four, and sometimes five distinct melodic lines).

Well, you lot seem to stay up writing all night while I'm sleeping--- even the folks who are (more or less) in my neck of the woods!

First of all - to who ever reported RocketMan.. good work. I was checking my stuff on my kindle and saw his message and by the time I navigated around to report it, it was already done. What a jerk.

FarmGirl - now I get what you and Jim have been sorting out. I still have to go back and try out his little "poem" to see how it works.

I'm really delighted to see how many have made it to submitting to the recital and looking forard to hearing all of your pieces.

We had a lot of snow yesterday and I see a good deal of it has remained on the ground. I shall have a lovely slog over to my lesson this morning. (In the past couple of years I have gradually shifted all of my work from the nearby big city to our small town. This means no more commuting on a truly pathetically unreliable train system, and that I walk or cycle to all my lessons. Today I'll need to give myself a little extra time!)

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

Hm.. This is the first time I open this forum thread. Is it possible to join the club?

After browsing just a bit I see that some of you seem to be working on stuff similar to what I'm doing. I have also submitted a piece for the upcoming ABF recital, and I have signed up for three of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words on the themed recital.

I recognise the upside-down music sheet since I have worked a bit on it myself, but not enough to play it for an audience. However, I'm working on another piece with lot of 4:3 rythm. This is the Passdepied from Debussy's Suite Bergamasque. It is awfully difficult, but it is very beautiful, and I really hope to have it ready for one of the upcoming web recitals. If you don't know this piece I recommend that you listen to it. In my opinion it is the highlight of the Suite Bergamasque which also contains the much more famous "Clair de Lune".

I'm probably working on too many pieces at the same time. In addition to Mendelssohn, Haydn and Debussy I also study one of Bach's Partitas. Most of this material is on a level where I spend most time working on details. I find that the 80:20-rule applies for music as well as for many other things. You reach 80% perfection with 20% of the effort. Then comes the remaining 80% of the time (boring) where you have to fix the remaining 20% (if you ever do it - perfection somehow seems to be beyond my capabilities).

I love the Bergamasque Suite - I like the Children's Corner too.If you listen to these works, there are moments when you can hear hits of jazz and ragtime ...just little suggestions, glimpses.... you can see how other composers must have picked up on these elements and taken them a step further to create new genres.... Which is pretty much what Debussy was doing too, wasn't it? Taking a step in a new direction.

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

Gandalf, welcome to the forum and this wonderful thread. I love Bach Partitas too. It's on my list to play someday. Of course Debussy pieces et al. Sounds like you've been playing the piano for a long time. Look forward to reading more of your posts and listening to your recordings.

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Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets

Casinitaly Interesting to hear about the origin of the name "Bergamasque". It makes sense, though, that the title of the suite refers to a beautiful landscape. I have been practicing all four movements of it and I find them all beautiful, but due to little time I decided to focus on the Passepied. Time will show if I ever can go further with the other movements.

FarmGirl I absolutely recommend Bach Partitas. For me it is really a treasure box. Technically the movements vary from "moderate" to "very difficult", but many of the simpler movements can be performed as individual pieces. There are some really nice ones in the third Partita which is the one I'm currently working on.

congratulations on Amazing Grace! If you're looking for an introduction to classical that won't get your neck hair to stand on end, I would encourage you to identify a piece of classical music that you already know and love, and then ask your teacher to find a simplified piano score for it.

Thanks for the encouragement as well as the advice Saranoya, I have been working on the "Night Song" (Alfred's Basic Adult book 2) but I'm finding it quite tedious and repetitive. Canon in D did not interest me at all. I will take your advice and ask teacher for something, I tend to like the "Romantics", I have a lesson in 2 hrs so I'll probably post again tonight.

And when I played the Moonlight in class last Wednesday, my teacher basically said I had 'too much expression' in it (meaning: look at your score, stupid, it says 'sempre pp').

Many professional pianists do terrible things to the "Moonlight" in the name of "expression". A few minutes checking out versions on YouTube or Spotify can be very interesting, whether you agree with me or not!

Ganddalf, I'm just reminded that you're from Norway. I have submitted Grieg for this recital, I hope you enjoy a non-Norwegian interpretation.

I notice you have submitted Haydn. I heard your last recital and I know how much I appreciate Haydn so let me be the first to offer a positive response to your submission; I love it

Oh, I hope that I'm not going to disappoint you. Haydn is relatively simple to play at a mediocre level, while his pieces are extremely difficult to play if you want to do it very well. Anyhow my agenda is to promote my favourite pieces and composers, and this time I hope that other forum members also realise how great Haydn's music is.

I look forward to listening to your Grieg interpretation. For the next ABF recital I'm also going to play Norwegian music, but written by a different composer.

When we listen to others we overlook weaknesses and pick out the bits we like but when we listen to ourselves we listen for the weaknesses in order to find areas to improve. I seldom listen to an ABF recital piece without enjoying it or, apart from when searching for a particular piece, listening to the end.

How curious that for the next ABF recital I'm going for an Austrian composer but not Haydn!

Sorry. I know it's upside down but I cannot fix it. As you can see now these quarter notes are trplets. So there are four quarter notes worth of notes in both lines. But it's written in cut time so it has be played twice as fast to the point you can feel two beats per measure even though there are four beats (if it weren't cut time).

Just reading that opening segment, I immediately feel it in a kind of 6/8 time which would have a very similar feel to triplets in cut time. Are there a bunch of polyrhythms in this piece?

Ragdoll, have you heard David Lanz's "Variations on a Theme From Pachelbel's Canon in D Major"? You say you don't like the Canon, but do like Romantic music. I know it's a 'little bit' beyond Alfred level...

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David Lanz - Dark HorseYiruma - River Flows In You

Saranoya, the piano dealer said he could tune the Yamaha silent. Maybe I'll like it even better than I already did! The top is a bit damaged, sadly. Brand new piano but a mirror fell from the wall... oops. He's going to repair it, of course, but you'll probably keep seeing some of it. Wonder if he can take a bit more of the price to compensate. When he was showing me around the shop, he said these were already bottom prices.

I still do want to try a grand piano at the big store in the next town. Ahhh, dreaming about what you can't afford. Even without doing that, I think I know what you mean. When I was playing the acoustics, especially when the dealer went away to let me play in private, I really felt like cutting loose and just going for it. Playing without fear for mistakes, on a piano that really makes a sound, such a wonderful feeling!

I'm also kinda jealous of you: no grandfather is buying me a piano!

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David Lanz - Dark HorseYiruma - River Flows In You

I am excited about the upcoming recital. So much beautiful music and lots of first timers. It is going to be great!

JimF I think your rhyme is more effective than mine. I think I will try it out.

FarmGirl I took a look at that Etude. Whoah, it looks like a lot of work. Have fun. I hope you are feeling better.

Saranoya, I am simply amazed that you managed to get a recording for the recital without a piano of your own. That is very resourceful. It is really neat that several people are working on Moonlight. That makes it fun!

Gandalf it sounds like you have a full plate - three Songs without Words AND Bergermasque? Yikes! I am impressed.

My AOTW is to upload my very first Youtube video for the recital. Now that I know how, I plan on doing more videos. It is really helpful to actually see what I look like playing. Now I know what my teacher is always talking about!

I think it would be a real blast to have a Piano World party over here - and I've actually found 3 members who are not "too" far from me.....it isn't impossible....

Cheryl, may I reserve a seat? The only problem, I need to learn to play in public. This would be an achievement! It's one of may goals for 2013, and I would start with a ABF Piano bar or Recital, as soon as I learn how to record myself!

Well, yeah. It is kind of neat that I will now have a grand piano at my apartment even though I don't have the money to buy it myself yet.

But just to be clear: my grandfather didn't really buy me a piano. He bought a piano because, I suppose, that was something he'd always wanted to do in his life. Then he called me and said: I bought a piano for you. It's a Boston GP 156. Now tell me, how are you going to pay me back?

As a result, I gave him €8.000 a few weeks ago (which is probably about what I would have spent on an acoustic if I'd chosen one for myself), and will be paying the rest back in monthly installments over the next two years.

The upside is: I'm not sure I would have been able to buy a decent-sounding grand for €8.000, and also not sure I would have dared to buy a more expensive one if someone else hadn't taken it out of my hands. And when I played the Boston 156 at the store a few weeks ago, I absolutely loved it.

After doing some research, I now know my grandfather probably could have done better than a Boston 156 for the price he paid. But I like this piano, and refusing to take it would have led to long-term troubles with a family member I care about. So I didn't. And now I'm buying a piano from my family on what is essentially a consumer credit type of deal, except without the interest.

Re the Boston. They are pretty nice piano's. I assume you know they are actually made by Kawaii. When I was piano shopping I tried a number of 156's and thought they played "bigger" than their length, if you know what I mean.

I do. This is what I was referring to with my final comment. The consensus seems to be that for the price of any given Boston piano, one can get a better Kawai.

I'm not sure. I've read comments online that say most Asian-made pianos sound 'tinny' and 'metallic'. Now, I didn't get to try any kind of Kawai piano at any of the three stores I've recently been at, but I found the 'tinny sound' comment to be true of most Yamaha models I tried. Not so for the Boston (at least, I didn't think so).

It must be said, however, that the piano I play when I go for my lesson each week is also a small Yamaha grand, and it doesn't sound nearly as tinny as any of the Yamaha pianos I played at the store. I suppose a piano's voice changes as it ages, so it's hard to judge its true sound when brand-new (this may be an excellent argument to only buy used!). And anyway, if we're going to start generalizing, then I suppose the Boston should also be included in the broad 'Asian-made' category, and then the conclusion would be that it, too, supposedly sounds 'tinny'. Which, to my ear at least, it doesn't.

Originally Posted By: JimF

When I was piano shopping I tried a number of 156's and thought they played "bigger" than their length, if you know what I mean.

That's the impression I got, as well.

Out of curiosity: what did you end up buying, and why? ETA: never mind, it's in your signature. The second part of the question remains, though: what made you pick the Estonia?

My AOTW is my teacher has today "blessed" Moonlight 1st movement. Just means I won't be playing it for her any more and can continue to try and improve it on my own.

Now I can turn my attention to the Beethoven Minuet and the piece we have chosen for her spring recital, which I don't think I've mentioned here yet.

Most of Chopin's Sonata No. 2 in Bb minor is way, way beyond my abilities, and probably always will be, but there is a pretty little section in the third movement that my teacher found that is very nice. It looks challenging but doable, with a lot of left hand movement doing arpeggios and a right hand melody with some interesting fingering and a few really long trills. It is funny because it is a nice little melodic section sandwiched in the middle of Chopin's famous funeral march, which is more than just a little bit somber.

Ragdoll, have you heard David Lanz's "Variations on a Theme From Pachelbel's Canon in D Major"? You say you don't like the Canon, but do like Romantic music. I know it's a 'little bit' beyond Alfred level...

Well thanks Allard, not to put too fine a point on it but I didn't say I didn't "like" the Canon but that it didn't interest me... however, after hearing this clip you posted I may rethink it. It's lovely really.

When I talked to my teacher today about my decision of changing to the Night Song instead of the Canon, she played both for me and truely encouraged me to give the Canon (in Fabers) another try for her Spring Recital in March. She said I could do the one in Alfred's if I wanted but she thought the Faber's version would be more to my benefit. Anyway, I am going to give this another try for a week or so even though I may not play it in the recital at all, we'll see how it goes. And again, thanks much for that clip.

The version I'm working on is this one:Monica K's Canon in D videoI started with the Canon in D version at the back of Alfred's AIO Book 2, then moved on to this one. It was a big bite....and I'm not done chewing on it yet, lol, but I certainly am enjoying the process. It can be played more slowly than in the video and sound decent, but to really get the full benefit of the melody in the RH when the sixteenth notes are being played in both hands, you have to get the pace moving a bit.

Allard--nice version of 'D' you posted.

SwissMS--so did you look like you thought you did when you did a video of yourself playing?

JimF--Moonlight Sonata--excellent. I would like to start it, but have to get over nerves(nerves = those ugly early efforts before you get the notes under your fingers)with respect to playing it in front of my husband, who sat down and played it darn near perfectly after not having played it for 40 years. He's much too nice to say anything, but I know he knows. Silly of me, yes, but still:

All of you AOTWers doing 4 vs 3--good on you. I'm working on a simple 2 vs 3 and it's not pretty. For the 2 vs 3 (or 3 vs 2) I use a simple (and rather drab) 'Not Dif-i-cult.' (Don't I wish.)

FArmGirl--Arizona is nice, at least if you grew up in northern U.S. like I did where winter lasted forever and it was cloudy 25 hours a day.

I spent most of the week on my third Bach 3-part Invention -- doubling the speed and working toward smoother transitions between phrases. It used to be that I didn't like Bach very much, but these Inventions have become fascinating to me; it's been a bit difficult to draw my attention away from them.

Sorry. I know it's upside down but I cannot fix it. As you can see now these quarter notes are trplets. So there are four quarter notes worth of notes in both lines. But it's written in cut time so it has be played twice as fast to the point you can feel two beats per measure even though there are four beats (if it weren't cut time).

Just reading that opening segment, I immediately feel it in a kind of 6/8 time which would have a very similar feel to triplets in cut time. Are there a bunch of polyrhythms in this piece?

yes all the way through 3 against 4.

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Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets

SwissMS I think your nocturn is much more difficult than my little étude. My teacher is having me do this as a prep for the next one.

Stubbie, well Arizona is wonderful now but it's frigging hot in summer.

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Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets

SwissMS I think your nocturn is much more difficult than my little étude. My teacher is having me do this as a prep for the next one.

Stubbie, well Arizona is wonderful now but it's frigging hot in summer.

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Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets

SwissMS--so did you look like you thought you did when you did a video of yourself playing?

Let's just say I can see what my teacher is talking about - still way too much tension in my right hand. At least I know what to work on.

FarmGirl, I think I would go nuts with 3 against 4 for an entire piece! I can hold it together for a measure or two, but a page worth must be a lot of concentration! My nocturne is really a lot of fun. It is all over the keyboard. I still haven't managed to get the arpeggios at the end at the speed I want them.

I might get to go piano shopping too! We live in an eight unit apartment building, but it is Swiss built with eight inch, concrete walls outside and between units. We are on a ground floor, and my neighbor upstairs says she never hears anything from our apartment. So, this week we are running a test. I am playing my Avant Grand at full volume and she will let me know if she hears anything. If she doesn't, I go shopping!